Russ Diamond Statement on PA CleanSweep

The following is a guest column. I'm willing to offer subjects of commentary the chance to address issues discussed here, especially if they regard them.

John

Jerry Kelley’s analysis of PACleanSweep as a “one-bullet gun” without any
vision for the future “beyond the anger of the pay raise” is akin to not
seeing the forest for the trees. That a former director of the organization
failed to see the big picture is disappointing.

Yes, the pay raise was at the forefront of the movement, but that one issue
was never the be-all or end-all. Rather, it was yet another in a long train
of examples of government gone wrong. Public anger over the pay raise was
just the tip of the iceberg.

Pay raise backlash was co-opted by PACleanSweep to help galvanize the public
against incumbents who routinely choose to violate the Constitution and
others who stand idly by while the fundamental law of our land is mocked.

The main problem in Pennsylvania - and our nation as a whole - is that We
the People have allowed elected officials make a career out of it. The
primary focus for those who hold office has become retaining that office. As
an offshoot of voter apathy, they feel at liberty to practice self-service
instead of public service.

The “Vote ‘Em All Out” mantra, while simplistic, serves a larger goal than
simply getting rid of a few unsavory legislators in one particular election
year. There are still 25 state Senators who have not faced any election
challenge since the pay raise. There are incumbents who had no competition
whatsoever this year. We need to repeat the effort in 2008 and in every
subsequent election year.

While the organization did fire one big bullet when we announced the
Republican and Democrat candidates we supported, the stubborn refusal by
some to chamber the next round - regardless of its perceived impact - defies
logic. Kelley himself vehemently opposed organizing Independent and minor
party candidates under a unified PACleanSweep banner.

There were some within PACleanSweep who opposed my Independent candidacy for
Governor based on a misguided assumption that I was shooting for some sort
of personal gain. If I truly had only my own interests at heart, I would
have simply ignored the pay raise altogether and continued to mind my own
business and earn a comfortable living.

What they failed to see is that one of the best ways to encourage other
citizens to run for state House and Senate as Independents is to have
someone at the “top of the ticket.” Others within the reform movement were
offered the slot, and when none stepped forward, I did. Had we later found a
more suitable candidate, I could have withdrawn, but we needed a name on the
petitions if we wanted to start gathering those 67,070 signatures.

PACleanSweep was founded with the intent of doing everything possible to
resurrect the notion of the citizen statesman and putting career politicians
on the endangered species list. This includes taking the initiative to run
for office ourselves, if necessary.

Some members of the Board opined that PACleanSweep should morph into some
sort of government watchdog group. However, there are plenty of those groups
in existence already, and they do a pretty good job of illuminating the
issues. What they lack, for various reasons, is the ability to raise or
publicly support candidates.

PACleanSweep, by interfacing with those watchdog groups and bringing
candidates to the field, added an element which has been sorely missing in
the past. What we discovered in 2006 is that directly threatening the
livelihood of career politicians is a great way to get them to pay more
attention to the watchdog issues, even if the results so far have been
little more than window dressing.

For those who are searching for a long-term vision for PACleanSweep, it
happens to be exactly the same as the short-term vision: vote out incumbents
until we get the government our Constitution promises. Even after that goal
is achieved, good government will quickly vaporize if electoral competition
subsides.

Benjamin Franklin and his contemporaries gave us “a republic, if you can
keep it.” Those who choose to view its maintenance as a sprint rather than a
marathon only assure future generations of nothing but tyranny. Our children
deserve better.

PACleanSweep.com will continue - albeit without the burdensome corporate
structure - to provide a vehicle for those who wish to challenge the culture
of arrogance and greed in Harrisburg.

After November’s election, we’ll set our sights on 2008 - and this time
around, we’ll have the experience of 2006 in our back pocket and more time
to plan. I urge all Pennsylvanians to join the fight to take back our
government.

Russ Diamond
Founder, PACleanSweep